Assassination plots and attempts are common among prominent people.
Through the years, we have seen presidents, prime ministers, human
rights advocates, religious leaders and world-renowned celebrities
almost get killed in cold blood by haters, subordinates or strangers.
Here are the 8 Boldest Assassination Attempts Ever
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Pope John Paul II was about to give his speech at St. Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981 when Turksih gunman Mehmet Ali Agca shot at him. He fired the shots while the pope was walking through the crowd. The Pope was rushed to Gemelli Hospital and fortunately survived.
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Islamic Nation Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto arrived in Karachi, Pakistan to welcome a crowd on October 18, 2007 when two bombs went off at the airport after two suicide bombers hit her homecoming parade. Bhutto survived the attack but 139 bystanders were killed. It was later revealed that Al-Qaeda was responsible for the bombing.
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On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was conducting a campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was about to deliver a speech when a mentally unstable man named John Schrank shot at him. The projectile passed through his speech and eyeglass case and went through his skin but fortunately didn’t puncture his lung. After the shot, he continued to deliver his speech with blood seeping through his coat.
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On December 11, 1960, retired postal worker Richard Paul Pavlick followed Kennedy in Palm Beach, Florida in an attempt to kill him by blowing his car with dynamite. His plan was to ram his car into the limousine of JFK so the dynamite can kill them both. Unfortunately, Kennedy left the house with his wife and baby. Feeling pity for JFK’s family, Pavlick decided to do the assassination another day.
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In 2011, some gunmen attempted to kill the president of New Guinea by surrounding his home overnight and pounding his bedroom with several rockets. Fortunately, the president was sleeping in a different room when the shooting erupted, saving him from the assassination.
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In January 2013, an assassin tried to kill Bulgarian political leader Ahmed Dogan while he was delivering his speech at a party conference at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. The gunman came up to the podium and directly extended his gun toward Dogan, but the gun jammed and failed to shoot off.
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US President Bill Clinton was attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Manila in 1996 when a terrorist hit was plotted against him. A few moments before his motorcade was about to move, some agents picked up a radio chatter that involved the mention of some code words referring to a terrorist hit. Agent Merletti changed the route to protect the President. As the rest of the agents took the prescribed route, they found four explosives that would have killed President Clinton.
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In 2000, Pervez Musharraf survived the assassination attempt by Kamran Atif, a member of Harkat-Ul Muhahideen al-Alami. The assassin planted an explosive near a bridge in Rawalpindi where the Pakistani political figure was expected to pass. The attempt failed because when the bomb exploded, the heavily-guarded convoy of Musharraf had already crossed the bridge.
Here are the 8 Boldest Assassination Attempts Ever
1. Pope John Paul II
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Pope John Paul II was about to give his speech at St. Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981 when Turksih gunman Mehmet Ali Agca shot at him. He fired the shots while the pope was walking through the crowd. The Pope was rushed to Gemelli Hospital and fortunately survived.
2. Benazir Bhutto
Source
Islamic Nation Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto arrived in Karachi, Pakistan to welcome a crowd on October 18, 2007 when two bombs went off at the airport after two suicide bombers hit her homecoming parade. Bhutto survived the attack but 139 bystanders were killed. It was later revealed that Al-Qaeda was responsible for the bombing.
3. Theodore Roosevelt
Source
On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was conducting a campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was about to deliver a speech when a mentally unstable man named John Schrank shot at him. The projectile passed through his speech and eyeglass case and went through his skin but fortunately didn’t puncture his lung. After the shot, he continued to deliver his speech with blood seeping through his coat.
4. John F. Kennedy
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On December 11, 1960, retired postal worker Richard Paul Pavlick followed Kennedy in Palm Beach, Florida in an attempt to kill him by blowing his car with dynamite. His plan was to ram his car into the limousine of JFK so the dynamite can kill them both. Unfortunately, Kennedy left the house with his wife and baby. Feeling pity for JFK’s family, Pavlick decided to do the assassination another day.
5. Alpha Conde
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In 2011, some gunmen attempted to kill the president of New Guinea by surrounding his home overnight and pounding his bedroom with several rockets. Fortunately, the president was sleeping in a different room when the shooting erupted, saving him from the assassination.
6. Ahmed Dogan
Source
In January 2013, an assassin tried to kill Bulgarian political leader Ahmed Dogan while he was delivering his speech at a party conference at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. The gunman came up to the podium and directly extended his gun toward Dogan, but the gun jammed and failed to shoot off.
7. Bill Clinton
Source
US President Bill Clinton was attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Manila in 1996 when a terrorist hit was plotted against him. A few moments before his motorcade was about to move, some agents picked up a radio chatter that involved the mention of some code words referring to a terrorist hit. Agent Merletti changed the route to protect the President. As the rest of the agents took the prescribed route, they found four explosives that would have killed President Clinton.
8. Pervez Musharraf
Source
In 2000, Pervez Musharraf survived the assassination attempt by Kamran Atif, a member of Harkat-Ul Muhahideen al-Alami. The assassin planted an explosive near a bridge in Rawalpindi where the Pakistani political figure was expected to pass. The attempt failed because when the bomb exploded, the heavily-guarded convoy of Musharraf had already crossed the bridge.
